Well hello there friend. Old friend, new friend, girl friend, man friend, family friend, mutual friend, Facebook friend that I don't even know. How are you today? Doing well? Good, I'm glad.
I'd like to share with you, dear friend, what I do for a living. I spend the majority of my life working, and being that I started at an even more impressionable age, my career has greatly shaped who I am. That may not sound pretty or motherly or domestic, but it's true, so I'm very sorry but you'll need to get over it. Bless your heart.
As most of you know, for a while I wanted to be a professional musician. My husband and I put a lot of money and I put a lot of time into trying to make it happen. I was out in Nashville, my husband was in Minnesota, and the money was only running one way...out. Every time things were looking promising, something happened and it fell through. I guess you would normally call that 'God shutting a door'- but God knows my very stubborn heart and so He knows that shutting a door rarely stops me from forcing my will over His. I'm convinced that instead, He gives it a good SLAM, and then digs through his drawer labeled 'Emma Never Listens' for yet another iron padlock so I don't try and weasel my way back through. It hurts to have doors slammed on me, but even more to know that the slam is what it took to get my tunnel vision to open up a bit. It's unfortunate, and it's painfully humbling.
When music didn't pan out, we found ourselves in debt and I was without direction. I was back at the bank with my tail between my legs and let's just say the paychecks weren't touching the interest on the loans. Things were looking even more bleak when I lost my job at Wells Fargo and Andy was only working part time while incurring more student loan debt, oh, I mean----getting an education. Go America. I decided to look for something completely different. I was all done with Fortune 500 companies and corporate balooey. I had worked on several insurance claims with some of my mortgage clients at the bank because of a storm that went through my area, and I came into contact with a lot of local contractors in the process. As I applied for jobs, I kept thinking about the contractors I'd come to know. I had no background whatsoever but it was different, and I couldn't speak construction- but heck if I couldn't learn.
I applied and experienced complete culture shock when I was hired and found myself working in Tennessee a couple weeks later. I'm the girl that needs to google how to work a coffee dispenser. I appreciate that you're giving me the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not referring to a Keurig- I'm talking one of those twisty top thermos deals they give you at IHOP. My mom and my husband know the struggle is real for me and they still love me... so I'm over it. Can't change, can only learn. Anyway, being in Tennessee and not playing my guitar was tough, talk about that slammed door leaving a mark on my cheek. I was there for three weeks and came back feeling even more defeated. In Tennessee, however, I met someone who had owned a construction company all his working life. He was a little older than my dad and had looked to retire but was deciding instead to start building his company up again. He offered me a sales position, and after some time working with the original contractor I applied with as well as the new one, I jumped in with both feet. I drove my little old car from my townhouse in Sartell to the office in southern Lakeville- it was about an hour and a half each way without traffic, and double that with it. (see previous 'Confessions of a Driveaholic' post) I left at around 4am every morning and would sleep in the office parking lot if traffic hadn't been terrible. I would get home around 8pm and spend whatever time I could with Andy and Charlie before passing out. Andy was working and being a full time dad, and our family made sacrifices we didn't want to, but I'll always be thankful for Andy's faith and trust while we took a giant leap with no idea where we would land.
After some time, the owner of the company presented an opportunity I could never have expected. He wanted to know if I wanted to be a partner. It would be split down the middle, and I'd make my own terms. I still don't know exactly what he saw in me at that point except that he knew I was a hard worker and was willing to do what it took to provide for my family. I read roofing and siding books, I put myself through training, and I taught myself to do the company's accounting. It wasn't quick or easy, and years later I'm still learning about my industry daily, but I've always been happy to learn. I invited myself to important meetings and tried to follow conversations that didn't make sense at the time. I wore false confidence like it was my only clean bra, but I didn't have a choice. I was a 21 year old girl in a man's world. Earning respect was and is more than difficult in my industry. The industry will eat you alive, it's vicious and jaded and cold- you better be tougher than it or it'll spit you out; it doesn't care if you're a young woman or an experienced man, I've seen it happen.
So all that to say- this is what I do, and it turns out it's my calling. My natural bossiness has found its place. My job consists of selling myself and my company to both commercial and residential builders, and development companies and associations. My salesman do a wonderful job selling to homeowners and association boards. My project managers supervise my 38 crews in the field as they install roofing and siding for the biggest builders in the country, right down to Mike Mussman's house from K102 radio. I also manage scheduling for all my crews and builders, and I run the books and payroll along with every day office management. We've just purchased a new office building to provide much needed space as we continue to grow, and I've enjoyed getting settled in there. My company doesn't slow down all year long and in the winter and spring I travel to different parts of the country and attend functions put on by my suppliers and other vendors. I meet with local committees for several projects all over the Midwest and stay very involved in local associations supporting the building industry such as BATC and NARI. Sometimes I'm in the field checking things out in work boots and a hard hat and sometimes I'm in a fancy dress eating veal on a rooftop in Vegas. I never turn my phone off, and I never ignore a call- there's a lot of stress and many days I've wondered how I'll even get through, but responsibility and integrity are what have helped us grow to be one of the top three exterior companies in the state for volume. I work a lot, I'm away from my family more than I want, but I also have the flexibility of being there when need be without having to haggle with a boss about what's important. It's hard, the hardest job I have ever or will ever have- I am a contractor and though it's not girly or glamorous most the time, I'm a proud one at that.
I think it's so strange how we think we have ourselves figured out when we're younger. We let the expectations of the only environment we know shape our futures and set our standards. I thought of myself as a teacher, or at one point a singer, and if you would've told me I would be looking at a blueprint of the Viking's new stadium with the chief architects I would've told you that you were loco en la cabeza. We've since moved to Lakeville and we bought a house. We're currently planning to build nearby on some land if God allows, and add the house we're in now to our rentals. In my industry, we're market based so we don't take anything for granted and I realize everything we're given is a blessing. Thanks to God's grace we've been able to pay off our debt and save for the future- and when we look back to donating plasma after work to feed Charles, it only points to a God that knows when to slam a door on a stubborn struggling musician so he can open a better better one. Praise Him.
